Mike Willesee 'hopeful' Schapelle Corby interview will go ahead

Michael Bachelard, Amilia Rosa

Schapelle Corby's chosen TV interviewer Mike Willesee has still not spoken to his star subject or her sister but is “absolutely” hopeful the paid interview will go ahead.

However, Willesee said he was yet to broach the subject with the family.

I haven't talked to anybody about getting the interview done; it's not simply a matter of Schapelle or Mercedes saying it'll be done

Corby was released from Kerobokan prison a week ago and has been living inside a luxury villa compound protected by guards hired by the Seven Network.

Staying in a hotel: Schapelle Corby covered her face when she was released. Photo: Justin McManus

A long-lens photograph taken from outside the compound by a newspaper photographer ensured that the walls surrounding her villa were last week extended with a bamboo screen. Nobody can now see in or out.

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Last Thursday, the Indonesian Deputy Justice Minister objected to any interview, paid or otherwise, throwing all the Seven Network's arrangements with the family into disarray.

The minister, Denny Indrayana, threatened to return Corby to prison if she caused an "upset" in the community by doing the interview.

Despite having had all weekend to think about the issue, Willesee told reporters on Monday morning: "At this stage there's a lot of things to be worked out, so I can't tell you [if the interview will go ahead]."

He conceded that he had still not spoken to Mercedes or Schapelle Corby on the subject.

"I haven't talked to anybody about getting the interview done; it's not simply a matter of Schapelle or Mercedes saying it'll be done," Willesee said.

Asked what other considerations there were, he answered: "That's enough."

It's understood that Schapelle Corby's ghost writer and the family's publicist, Kathryn Bonella, has been in negotiations with Willesee and the Seven Network over the interview.

A week after the drug smuggler's release, Willesee said he did not know how much the network had paid out for the luxury accommodation and security guards.

"Yeah, mostly it's a waiting game at this stage," he said, but he did not know how long the network would be prepared to continue waiting.

Asked if Corby was going "stir crazy", Willesee said: "I think the place she's come from would be a lot tougher than the place she's in."

A rumoured visit by another part of Indonesia's justice system, the prosecutor's office, has not occurred.